Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Library of the Mother See and the National Library of Armenia

October 2014

On October 6, with the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; the third international conference of Armenian libraries was held in Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. The theme for the conference was “Preservation of the Past, for the Sake of the Future”. The conference has been jointly organized by the Mother See, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia, and the National Library of Armenia.

During the conference Rev. Fr. Ararat Poghosian, Director of the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Library; and Mr. Tikran Zargarian, Director of the National Library of Armenia, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, outlining the cooperation between the two institutions. It has been agreed that each will offer their contributions to: the conservation, development and dissemination of Armenology; education of the younger generation on the importance and awareness of national and spiritual values; promotion, strengthening, and expansion of the relationships between Armenological centers; and promotion and implementation of the digitization of Armenian printed heritage, digital library creation and long-term conservation programs for digitization of endangered materials. The Memorandum also provides for the organization of ‘Master Classes’ for libraries at the National Library of Armenia, visits by specialists, and joint exhibitions and conferences.

Within the cooperation, the Library of Mother See will be involved in “Armenian periodical complete catalogue” and formation activities of consolidated databases of books of Armenian ancient and early period.

With the purpose of implementing these objectives, a joint-committee will be created composed of representatives from the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Library of Holy Etchmiadzin and the National Library of Armenia.

Source: